Now that a law is in place for conducting a national referendum on revising the Constitution, it is important to tell the public why it needs to be amended and start more discussions, a pro-amendment group said Saturday.

Because this is the first Constitution Day since the referendum law took effect last year, "this year is a turning point," said representative Junpei Kiyohara at the group's 39th annual forum in Tokyo to discuss the Constitution.

"We need to start focusing on explaining Japanese citizens (why amendments need to take place)," he said.